43rd Annual CATA Technical Conference

Duncan Onduru is the Executive Director of the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA)-an intergovernmental organization headquartered in London, United Kingdom. Before joining CATA, he served as a Senior Tax Manager with PricewaterhouseCoopers providing tax advisory services to some of the big multinational corporations and high net worth individuals. He has a wealth of experience in tax policy and administration, having served for several years at the Economic Affairs Division of the Ministry of Finance in Kenya and Kenya Revenue Authority where he rose to the rank of Deputy Commissioner in charge of Audit Policy. He holds a Master's Degree in Economics, majoring in Public Finance from the University of Nairobi and an LLM in International Tax (cum laude), from Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego-California.

In his current role, he coordinates capacity building and outreach programs in the Commonwealth member countries leveraging existing partnerships with international and regional tax organizations as well as with research and academic institutions working on the area of tax policy and tax administration.

Datuk Dr. Mohd Nizom Sairi was appointed as the Chief Executive Officer of Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia on 19 October 2021.

Datuk Dr. Mohd Nizom Sairi has a wealth of knowledge on the operations and administration of direct taxes in Malaysia. He started his career with the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia more than 35 years ago serving in various senior capacities including Director of Compliance Department, Director of Investigation Department, State Director of Perak, Director of Malaysian Tax Academy, Deputy CEO (Management) and Deputy CEO (Tax Operations) before his appointment as Chief Executive Officer.

Being a prominent speaker, Datuk Dr. Mohd Nizom Sairi frequently represents Malaysia and the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia at conferences, seminars and workshops. Datuk Dr. Mohd Nizom Sairi is passionate in his vision of creating a tax administration that is seen as a strategic partner by all stakeholders, with the end result of building and creating a well-informed society on tax matters, thereby realising the objective of increasing voluntary compliance in Malaysia.

Datuk Dr. Mohd Nizom Sairi is Chairman of the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA) for the 2021-2024 term. He is also Head of the Executive Council for the Association of Tax Authorities of Islamic Countries (ATAIC) for the 2021-2023 term and Chair to Study Group on Asian Tax Administration and Research for the term 2022/2023.

Mr Muhammad, is a well-trained Tax, Accounting and Management Professional with highly rated qualifications and professional practicing licenses from relevant professional bodies. He has over three (3) decades of practical working experience in Auditing, Tax Management and Advisory and Management Services to clients in the Banking, Manufacturing Services and Public Sectors as well as Non- Profit organizations.

Nami is an expert in rendering advisory support services to investors in respect of new businesses. He has also continuously rendered outsourced services to clients in both trading, service and manufacturing sectors of our economy.

Mr Muhammad Nami attended Bayero University, Kano and Ahmadu Bello University where he obtained a Bachelor Degree in Sociology (1991) and a Masters of Business Administration (2004) respectively. He is a Fellow of Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria, Association of National Accountants of Nigeria and Associate Member of the Nigerian Institute of Management (Chartered), chartered institute of stockbrokers (CIS) as well as a graduate member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria.

He started his career with PKF in 1993 and rose to the position of a Senior Consultant in charge of Tax management and advisory services. He was also the Managing Consultant of Manam Professional Services (Chartered Tax Practioners and Advisers) based in Kaduna, Abuja and Minna from October, 2018 to December, 2019.

As the Executive Chairman of the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS) Mr Nami is also automatically the Chairman of the Joint Tax Board (JTB). He is the immediate past Chairman of the African Tax Administrators Forum (ATAF). He is also the current President of the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA). These roles have invariably conferred on him the need to contribute to the growth and development of Nigeria, Africa and the commonwealth nations.

As a go-getter and an ingenious leader, he has since proved bookmakers right that he is more than equal to the task. The reforms he is implementing at FIRS attest to his dexterity, visionary leadership and patriotism. Under his visionary leadership, the FIRS in 2022 achieved an unprecedented revenue collection of N10.1 trillion, which is the highest tax collection ever made in the history of the country.

Today, he is renowned for the unapologetic deployment of technology as well as the introduction of unprecedented reforms in Nigeria's tax administration including data mining and strategic intelligence gathering for improved revenue generation.

As a result of his innovative leadership, he has attracted many awards to the FIRS and himself. In October 2022, His Excellency, President Muhammadu Buhari, GCFR, conferred on him Excellence in Public Service Award for Fiscal reforms at the FIRS. He also bagged the LEADERSHIP Newspaper Year 2022 Public Servant Award as well as the BusinessDay Newspaper Excellence in Public Service Award 2022.

Mr. Muhammad Nami, in May 2023 was awarded the 2023 Institute of Chartered Accountants of Nigeria (ICAN) Merit Award.

Mr. Fathuhulla Jameel, FCCA and BSc. (Hons) Applied Accounting, is the Commissioner General of Taxation and leads the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA) in the administration of the tax system of Maldives. He is a qualified charted accountant with a wide range of experience in tax, auditing and accounting. Mr. Fathuhulla has served for over 10 years in the public sector, where he started his service in 2003 at the Department of Inland Revenue. From then till 2016, barring the 2 years for studies abroad, he served in the public sector in several capacities. Mr. Fathuhulla worked his way up the ranks from his trainee post to the position of Direct General of Audit and Investigation of MIRA. During his tenure at MIRA, from its establishment in 2010, he served not only as the head of Audit, but also served in technical capacity on several internal and external committees. He was an integral part of the team that first worked to introduce a tax system in Maldives, and led several education and awareness efforts on taxes from then.

In 2016, Mr. Fathuhulla transitioned into the private sector, where he worked as the Manager of Tax, Risk and Compliance at Dhiraagu. He held this post until he took up the helm of MIRA in October 2019. Mr. Fathuhulla brings his expertise from audit, tax, and risk management background to the table in formulating regulations and policies that MIRA implements, and also bring this expertise in serving as a member of MIRA's Board of Directors.

On 17th November 2018, H.E Ibrahim Ameer was sworn in as the Minister of Finance, Republic of Maldives.

His Portfolio includes the formulation and implementation of fiscal policies, debt policies, and the national budget. He also Chairs the Procurement Policy Board and is the President of the National Pay Commission. Additionally, he is also responsible for decisions related to issues pertaining to State Owned Enterprises.

He is the government-appointed counterpart for International Financial Institutions and Multilateral Development Banks where he oversees all technical and investment-related activities under the resource mobilization mandate.

Prior to his appointment, H.E Ameer worked at the Central Bank of Maldives, Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) from April 2008 till June 2011 and during his tenure in MMA, he guided the Research Division in conducting economic analysis of different sectors of the Maldivian economy; and led the preparation of Economic Bulletins and Review papers published by MMA. During this time, he also worked as a part-time lecturer for Economics at the Maldives National University.

He also served the private sector as a Business Consultant and later on as General Manager of ADK Trade and Shipping Pvt. Ltd till his appointment.

H.E Ameer is the Deputy Chairman of the Economic Committee of Maldivian Democratic Party (MDP) and he was also the Chairman of Finance and Treasury Committee formed during the transition period after 2018 Elections.

He obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in International Economics (Hons) from Multimedia University in 2007 and as a Fulbright Scholar, he completed his Master’s Degree in Economics in 2013 from the University of Nebraska, Omaha.

Ms. Asma Shafeeu serves as Deputy Commissioner General of Maldives Inland Revenue Authority and was appointed to the current position during October 2019. She has held several roles in senior management prior to the current appointment and has played a pivotal role in the implementation of BEPS standards in the Maldives. Ms. Asma was in charge of leading the International Relations team of MIRA during the time Maldives’ initial implementation of tax transparency standards. She has voiced in several international platforms regarding the challenges faced by Maldives as a developing nation in abiding to the transparency rules. Her excellent leadership led to Maldives securing capacity building programs for successful implementation of EOIR and AEOI standard. Ms. Asma has over 20 years’ experience in government service with expertise in tax policy, international taxation and revenue administration.

Mr. Ahmed Shareef comes with over 20 years of experience serving in the public sector in various capacities. Currently serving as the Assistant Commissioner General of Revenue Service Directorate of Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA), Mr. Shareef has been an integral part of MIRA for over 12 years

In his role as the Assistant Commissioner General, Mr. Shareef oversees the taxpayer registration process, returns and payments processing as well as revenue accounting and reconciliation process. He also oversees the operations of the regional offices established across the country. His meticulous approach and expertise have contributed significantly to the smooth functioning of MIRA’s operations.

Mr. Shareef holds a Bachelor’s degree in Accounting and Finance and a Master’s degree in Business Administration. With his diverse knowledge and experience, Mr. Shareef has made substantial contributions to the effective implementation of tax policies in Maldives.

Bruce Paynter is a Director in the Australian Taxation Office’s International Relations and Capacity Building branch. In over 40 years in the Australian Public Service he has worked predominately in compliance including Tax Crime Investigations and Intelligence functions, Data and Analytics and Technology project management roles. His last operational role was as the Intelligence Director for the Serious Financial Crime Taskforce and Australian lead for the Joint Chiefs of Global Tax Enforcement (J5) “Enablers of Tax and Financial Crime Intelligence Development Group”.

Bruce is a member of the OECD’s Taskforce on Tax and other Crimes where he is a member of the Capacity Building Advisory Group, has undertaken technical assistance missions for the International Monetary Fund and is an Advisor to Tax Inspectors without Borders for Criminal Investigation.

Bruce holds tertiary qualifications in Criminology and Fraud Investigations, is a qualified trainer and is passionate about capacity building in the Tax Crime Investigation Domain. He is married to Katrina, has three adult children (all boys – all still living at home) and, in his spare time, volunteers as a Fire-Fighter with the Queensland Rural Fire Service.

Yannick Côté is currently the International Relations and Treaties Office which promotes and supports Canada's multilateral contributions to our international partners, including CREDAF, CIAT, CATA.

Yannick has held positions in several areas of the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) for 25 years. She has gained experience in progressively responsible positions. She has worked in local, regional and headquarters offices and has a diverse knowledge in many areas.

Yannick has lived and worked for 6 years in emerging countries. She is multilingual.

Yannick is a graduate of the Agency Leadership Development Program at CRA and holds a Master's degree in Public Administration.

Mr. Abdulrahman Bah is the Director of Legal and Board Services at The Gambia Revenue Authority and also doubles as the Board Secretary of GRA. His responsibilities among others include, the provision of general legal advisory services, drafting of legal instruments, negotiation of tax treaties, providing legal opinions on legal issues and providing strategic support on compliance.

Before joining the GRA in 2018, Mr Bah served as a State Counsel at the Criminal Division of the Ministry of Justice of The Gambia from 2013-2018. He is a Legal Practitioner called to The Gambian Bar in 2014. Mr Bah holds double masters degree in intellectual property law and international commercial law from Africa University, Mutare, Zimbabwe and the University of Birmingham, respectively. Mr Bah was also a part-time lecturer at the University of The Gambia where he lectured the law of evidence.

Mr. Bah is also a Chevening scholar

Vusi Ngcamphalala is the Commissioner of Domestic Taxes at the Eswatini Revenue Service. He has a background in Accounting having started his career in the NGO sector before moving into the public sector. Vusi has worked for the Eswatini Revenue Service since inception in 2011, having grown through the ranks to the current position of Commissioner Domestic Taxes. Vusi boasts of 12 years’ experience in the public sector having worked as a Financial Controller at the ERS, Head of Compliance and Reconciliations at the Eswatini National Provident Fund and recently as Chief Finance and Corporate Services Officer at the Eswatini Competition Commission. He has been instrumental in leading various reforms from creation of financial and compliance management systems to establishing of key partnership and stakeholder engagements. He is currently the project sponsor for the new Integrated Revenue Administration System that the Eswatini Revenue Service is developing. Vusi is passionate about tax collection and improving systems to increase voluntary compliance.

Manish Mishra is an Indian Revenue Service officer of 1995 batch presently posted as Additional Director General of Income Tax (Systems). He has a vast experience of 28 years in the field of tax administration during which he was posted in diverse areas like investigation, International Taxation, Tax assessments, personnel administration and systems vertical. In his present assignment he is heading the data analytics and data management project of Income Tax Department in India where his responsibilities inter alia include execution of faceless tax regime in the country which is a unique digital innovation implemented by the Government of India.

Mr. Mohamed James Foday, a dedicated professional with an impressive career in revenue intelligence and investigation. Currently serving as the Director of Revenue Intelligence and Investigation Department (RIID) at Sierra Leone's National Revenue Agency, Mr. Foday has over 25 years of invaluable experience in the financial sector.

Previously, he held the position of Assistant Director of Policy and Research in the Monitoring, Research, and Planning (MRP) Department of the National Revenue Authority (NRA). His expertise extends beyond the confines of his agency, as he actively contributes to Sierra Leone's economic landscape.

As a member of the Monetary Policy Technical Committee (MPTC), Mr. Foday actively engages in discussions related to the country's fiscal and monetary affairs. This committee focuses on critical aspects such as expenditure and revenue flows, inflation and exchange rate dynamics, and revenue collection projections.

Furthermore, Mr. Foday also holds a membership in the Economic Policy Committee (EPC), where he plays a crucial role in coordinating the formulation, review, and evaluation of policy documents.

With his wealth of knowledge and extensive involvement in key decision-making bodies, Mr. Foday remains committed to contributing to Sierra Leone's economic development and driving impactful policies for sustainable growth.

Director Aspect Audits & Inspectorate within the Compliance & Investigations Directorate within the office for the Commissioner for Revenue.

Work experience: I have been working in taxation for 26 years principally in the investigation area of VAT. For the last 7 years I was the Director of the Compliance of Investigations which comprised of all type of tax investigations. Currently I hold the position of Director Aspect Audits & Inspectorate which focuses on limited scope verifications and all field operations connected to taxation.

Babatunde is a Chartered Tax practitioner, his over twenty years career as a tax administrator at the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS), Nigeria has taken him through the field office tax operations, taxpayers’ relationship management and development of the corporate communications function of the Nigerian, national Tax Authority.

He is the pioneer Executive Secretary of the West African Tax Administration Forum (WATAF) where he oversees the day- to-day administration of the Forum’s secretariat operations. Under his watch, WATAF has grown to become a voice to listen to at international fora on matters relating to tax administration in West Africa.

Aside other interests, he is a consummate public speaker and a lover of the outdoors whose professional calling cuts across the field of Public Relations, Journalism, Personnel Management and recently, Humanitarian and Refugees Studies.

Helen Baker is the business head for data acquisition in HMRC which includes leading international data exchanges under Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI). Helen has worked for HMRC for over 40 years mainly in a range of compliance roles and has been responsible for third party data acquisition since 2012.

Mr Roshan Oree joined the Mauritius Revenue Authority (MRA) in January 2007 and currently holds the position of Assistant Director. He formal qualifications include a first degree in Economics and an MBA in Finance.

In his current capacity as Officer-in-Charge of the Research, Policy and Planning Directorate of the MRA, he is responsible for overseeing the research, policy, planning and monitoring activities of the MRA. His scope of work also includes the preparation of the Annual Report, papers, studies on business economics and developments, reports on performance indicators, budget plans/forecast etc.

Prior to joining the MRA, Mr Oree worked as Senior Economic Analyst in the Tax Policy Directorate of the Ministry of Finance. In that capacity, he has been actively involved in in tax policy formulation and the preparation of the National Budget of Mauritius. He has also served on the Board of Directors of various parastatal bodies in Mauritius.

Himraj Singh is the acting Assistant Commissioner of Compliance at the Board of Inland Revenue in Trinidad and Tobago. He is a member of Association of Chartered Certified Accountants. He began his career at the Board of Inland Revenue and have gained over thirty years experience in tax audit and compliance

Dr Zainal Abidin Bin Ngah obtained his Bachelor of Arts in Accounting (Hons) in 1995 from De Montfort University in Leicester, United Kingdom and Master in Forensic Accounting and Financial Criminology from Universiti Teknologi MARA in Shah Alam, Malaysia in 2017 before enrolling into PhD in Accounting in the same year at the same university. He is a fellow member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA), previously graduated from Emile Woolf College in London, United Kingdom in 1998 and also a fellow member of the Association of Taxation Technicians (ATT) through his study at BPP College in London, United Kingdom in 2002. He has also passed and received an academic award with an overall CGPA of 4, in Advanced Diploma in Professional Taxation from the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM) in 2019. He is now a member of the Malaysian Institute of Accountants (MIA) and the Chartered Tax Institute of Malaysia (CTIM). His PhD thesis involves scrutinising and analysing data from tax evasion activities committed by the SME corporate taxpayers at the Petaling Jaya branch, one of the largest branches within the IRBM. At the beginning of his career in 1997, Dr Zainal was trained at a Chartered Accountants firm in London and spent quite a number of years there until returning to Malaysia in 2012. Currently he is working as a Principal Assistant Director at the IRBM in the Tax Compliance Department having spent 3 years dealing with Petroleum Upstream Division at the Specialised Industry Branch, Kuala Lumpur earlier and 8 years handling tax audit cases of SME corporate taxpayers at the Petaling Jaya Branch. Dr Zainal has written articles on tax evasion and two of his articles have been published in the renowned Journal of Financial Crime in 2021 and Accounting Research Journal in 2022.

Varsha Singh’s current positions as the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) Head of Strategy, Planning & International Cooperation as well as being the Senior Advisor to the ATAF Executive Secretary was built on her more than 25 years experience in the tax and customs spheres. Prior to joining ATAF, Varsha was the Deputy Head: Global Relations & Development Division in the Centre for Tax Policy and Administration at the Organisation for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD). She also held several senior management positions in the South African Revenue Service (SARS). These included leadership positions in customs, international relations, tax, information technology, modernisation and strategy and project management. Varsha also served as the head of SARS’s international relations division where she had a pivotal role in conceptualizing and establishing the ATAF in 2009. As the head of its interim secretariat, Varsha led the initial effort to grow ATAF into the organisation it is today.

Eduardo Jiménez is a policy advisor at the OECD’s Centre for Tax Policy and Administration (CTPA), specialising in value-added tax administration, policy and law design.

Eduardo has an extensive background in supporting jurisdictions in the area of VAT. He is an integral part of the team responsible for producing the VAT Digital Toolkit series. These publications aim to assist tax authorities in the different regions of the world with the design and implementation of reform to ensure the effective collection of value added tax on e-commerce activities. The Toolkits were designed to help governments secure important VAT revenues and to ensure a level playing field between bricks-and-mortar retailers and foreign online merchants. Three Regional Toolkits were delivered for Latin America and the Caribbean (2021), Asia-Pacific (2022) and Africa (2023), taking account of each region’s specific needs and circumstances.

Before joining the OECD, Eduardo served as a legal adviser for the Indirect Taxes Department of the Chilean Tax Administration (Servicio de Impuestos Internos), and represented Chile as a delegate to the OECD’s Working Party No. 9 on Consumption Taxes.

Served in Tax Administration for 17 years now as Assistant Commissioner Taxpayer audit Jan 2023 to date Deputy Commissioner Large Taxpayers office 2020-2023 Head of Division Risk for operational departments 2015-2020 Head of division Large Taxpayer audit 2011-2015 Auditor in different sectors Telecommunication, construction and banking Country correspondent for Rwanda in ATAF Head of delegation for Rwanda in the East African Revenue Authority Technical committee Holds a Masters degree in Tax Policy and Administration from Germany

Dingani is the Commissioner General of the Zambia Revenue Authority (ZRA), having assumed the role in 2021, prior to which he served as Commissioner Customs Services Division and Commissioner Modernisation and Corporate Strategy Division of ZRA. Dingani is a business strategist with an illustrious twenty-seven (27) years career and experience in leading teams in both public and private institutions. His career started in 1996 with an international auditing and consultancy firm named Coopers & Lybrand, after which he moved on to a water utility company and eventually joined ZRA in 2004. After joining the Authority, he served ZRA for a continuous period of 15 years in various customs management positions and later spear-headed ZRA’s modernisation reforms and strategy formulation as Commissioner for Modernisation and Corporate Strategy.

Dingani holds an MBA from the Erasmus University’s Rotterdam School of Management of Netherlands and a BSc Mathematics (minor in Computer Science) from the University of Zambia. He also has a Diploma from the Association of Chartered and Certified Accountants (ACCA).

Evarist Martin Mashiba is the Commissioner for Tax Investigation at the Tanzania Revenue Authority. He is a lawyer and financial fraud expert with over 20 years’ experience in tax investigation and financial fraud helping the Authority to realise lost taxes and enforce compliance.

Mashiba has worked as a Director for Case Management and Quality Assurance at the Solicitor General’s Office and also a Director for Guideline Formulation, Dissemination and Research at the Public Service Commission

He holds a Bachelor of Laws, MBA, and Master of Fraud and Financial Crime degrees.

Ms. Mariyam Himmath Hassan is the Deputy Director of International Relations and Cooperation Division of Maldives Inland Revenue Authority (MIRA).

In her current role, Ms. Himmath showcase her expertise in tax treaties and in the fields of international taxation. She also leads the technical assistance programs and ensure international cooperation by effectively maintaining relations with member organizations and securing capacity building programs for MIRA. She spearheads various technical assistance programs, ensuring smooth operations and effective implementation.

She is also entrusted with the responsibility of being the delegated Competent Authority of Maldives, overseeing Exchange of Information (EOI) unit. This encompasses both Automatic Exchange of Information (AEOI) and Exchange of Information of Request (EOIR).

With her comprehensive knowledge and dedication to her field, Ms. Himmath continues to contribute significantly to the efficient functioning of MIRA and plays a pivotal role in fostering international collaborations and ensuring that MIRA adheres to the international best practices.

Mr. Femi EDGAL is Nigerian Tax official with over 30 years of experience in Tax administration at the domestic and international levels. He trained as an Economist and he is a Fellow of the Chartered Institute of Taxation of Nigeria (FCTI). Mr. Edgal also hold a Chevening Fellowship (University of Bradford) of the Foreign and Commonwealth Office of the United Kingdom.

Mr. Edgal currently works with the Federal Inland Revenue Service of Nigeria, as a Deputy Director Tax and the Head of the International exchange of information Division, which coordinates the process of exchange of Tax related information between Nigeria and its Tax Treaties partners, which includes Exchange of information on request, Automatic exchange of information and the Country-by-Country reporting system. Mr. Edgal has over 13 years of working experience on Tax treaties and international exchange of information matters. He has served as the Special Assistant (on international collaboration matters) to the FIRS Executive Chairman (CEO). Between 2006-2010, Mr. Edgal held the position of the Secretary of the Nigeria’s Joint Tax Board (JTB). The JTB in Nigeria comprises over 40 Government Agencies, including all Tax Authorities at the Federal and State (sub-national) level, with a focus to ensure uniformity in the Tax administrative practices across the Federation.

Mr. Femi Edgal from year 2010 till date, has functioned as FIRS/Nigeria Secondee to the Secretariat of the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF) as the very first Coordinator, ATAF Project on Tax Treaties and Exchange of Information and then currently as Nigeria’s ATAF Country Correspondent. He has also served as Nigeria’s Country Correspondent to both the Commonwealth Association of Tax Administrators (CATA) and currently the West African Tax Administration Forum. Mr. Edgal has served as a Government Observer on the immediate past UN Tax Experts Subcommittee on Dispute Avoidance and Resolution (2017-2021). He is currently Nigeria’s Government Observer/member on the United Nations Tax Experts Subcommittee on Tax Transparency and exchange of information matters.

Mr. Edgal is married with children.

Ms Azlina Omar has 23 years of experience with the Inland Revenue Board of Malaysia (IRBM). She has started her career with the IRBM as an Assistant Director at an IRBM Branch. She was assigned as an auditor for 13 years - auditing businesses and large companies at 4 local tax Offices in Malaysia. In 2014, she was promoted as the Section Head of the Companies Tax Collection Section at the Petaling Jaya IRBM Office

In 2018, Ms Azlina joined the Exchange of Information Division in Department of International Taxation. She has attended various trainings organised by the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes, Study Group on Asia-Pacific Tax Administration and Research (SGATAR) and the Asian Development Bank (ADB). Ms Azlina regularly attends the WP 10 meetings since 2021. In 2022, she participated in the ‘Train the Trainer’ programme under the Asia Initiative of the Global Forum on Transparency and Exchange of Information for Tax Purposes and has successfully completed the training and is an OECD certified Local Trainer on Transparency and Exchange of Information on Request.

Ms Azlina presently is a Senior Revenue Executive, Exchange of Information Division, Department of International Taxation, IRBM.

Mr. John KINYUY is a Senior Tax Inspector and currently heads the ICT Division at the Directorate General of Taxation of Cameroon. In his career which spans over two decades, he’s served in various positions as investigations officer, tax auditor, relationship manager, Regional Taxation Chief and Research officer in several Divisions. He’s equally the country representative for CATA and ATAF (African Tax Administration Forum) for close to a decade now.

As head of the ICT Division, he’s been very active in the modernisation and digitalisation process currently underway in Cameroon over the past years.

Mr. John Bizwick serves as the Commissioner General for the Tax Authority, overseeing and guiding the organization's strategic initiatives and operations. With his extensive knowledge and experience in the field, he has been instrumental in implementing effective tax policies and ensuring compliance across the board.Mr. Biwick also served as the Commissioner General at the Tax Administration from 2012 to 2014. In this capacity, he implemented innovative strategies to streamline tax collection processes, enhance transparency, and promote fairness in taxation.

Prior to his current role, John held the position of Deputy CEO at a prominent multi-company holding group for five years, from 2015 to 2020. Additionally, he worked as the CEO of NBS Bank for twelve years, from 2000 to 2012. Under his guidance, the bank experienced significant expansion and achieved remarkable financial performance. Prior to his tenure at NBS Bank, Mr.Biazwick worked for the country's Reserve Bank for twenty years, starting in 1980. During this period, he held various positions within the bank, gaining a comprehensive understanding of monetary policy, financial regulation, and central banking operations.

He holds a Master's Degree in Economics, further solidifying his foundation in the fiel. His dedication to excellence, coupled with his profound understanding of economics and finance, has earned him accolades and commendations throughout his illustrious career.

Mr. Ravinder Saroop is Revenue Administration (RA) Advisor at International Monetary Fund (IMF)’s South Asia Regional Training & Technical Assistance Centre (SARTTAC), at New Delhi, India. He has undertaken capacity development work in the SARTTAC member countries in various revenue administration areas, including the development of medium-term revenue strategy and diagnostic missions using the Tax Administration Diagnostic Assessment Tool (TADAT).

Prior to joining the IMF, he worked for Government of India for more than 30 years in various areas of revenue administration reforms and tax policy, including in the Ministry of Finance. Before joining the IMF, he held the position of Principal Commissioner, Goods and Services Tax (GST) in India. His areas of expertise include risk-based audit, taxpayer services, compliance management of large taxpayers, and capacity building on a range of tax topics—both nationally and internationally. He holds a master’s degree in Public Administration from Harvard University and was also Edward Mason Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School.

Yvonne Wafula is a seasoned information Technology professional with over 15 years’ experience spanning across IT operations, project management, data analytics and data governance. She has been involved in supporting the development of tax administration systems through the translation of business requirements into appropriate technology solutions and is passionate about the effective use of technology in achieving business objectives.

Over the last 7 years, Yvonne has been instrumental in the establishment and operationalization of the corporate data function at the Kenya Revenue Authority. Her tenure has seen KRA unlock the potential of data within her possession through the implementation of the enterprise data warehouse and business intelligence solution.

She has a passion to see that the right data culture is established, and that value is derived from data through the adoption of the right standards, practices, and processes. In this pursuit, she has led the development and implementation of the inaugural KRA corporate data and analytics strategy, various data policies and a data literacy and culture program.

Yvonne holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Computer Science a master’s degree in IT Management from Strathmore University, Nairobi. A certified Project Management Practitioner and business analyst, she has a passion for the use of data and analytics to improve operational efficiency and risk management.

Kola Okunola is currently the Director of Intelligence, Strategic Data Mining and Analysis Department in the Federal Inland Revenue Service (FIRS). He has extensive technical and managerial experience spanning over 33 years in Private and Public Sector organizations. He has worked with various companies such as Siemens, Unilever PlC and Xerox.

He attended Executive Education programs at the University of Edinburgh, Scotland, Carleton University, Canada and Harvard University, USA. He is an alumnus of the Senior Executive Fellows (SEF) Program of Harvard Kennedy School, Harvard University, Microsoft Certified Professional, Fellow of the British Computer Society (FBCS), Fellow of the Nigeria Computer Society (FNCS), Member of the Computer Professional Registration Council of Nigeria (MCPN), Member Nigerian Society of Engineers (MNSE), Member Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA).

Kola Okunola has received local and international awards as follows:

• Received the Africa ICT Personality Award from the Africa ICT Alliance (AFICTA), for Contribution to ICT Enabled Growth and Development, 2020
• Received the World Bank’s Certificate of Appreciation for Contribution to Doing Business 2018
• Received the 2016 Africa’s Best Technology Innovation Award, from the African Tax Administration Forum (ATAF), Johannesburg, South Africa

Nicholas is the Director of the Insights & Solutions Branch at the Inland Revenue Authority of Singapore (IRAS). He leads the mission to leverage analytics, AI, and big data technology, driving the development of data-driven solutions to transform business processes within the IRAS. With a strong focus on delivering valuable insights for decision-making and policy formation, Nicholas and his team play a vital role in shaping the future of tax administration, building Data as a core capability within the organization.

Ms. Vivian Lesedi holds a Bachelor of Commerce Degree in Accounting from the University of Botswana and a master’s degree in International Taxation from the University of Sidney, Australia.

She is a seasoned Tax Professional who started working under the Sales Tax Section of the Customs Department, that later led the introduction of Value Added Tax in Botswana for 9 years prior to the formation of the Botswana Unified Revenue Service (BURS) in 2004. She has worked for the BURS at different Supervisory and Managerial levels for the past 19 years. She was appointed General Manager -Taxpayer Services Section from 2014 to date. The section was subsequently renamed Processing Centre in 2016. She was instrumental in the development and implementation of the new Tax Management System in Botswana that was launched in May 2020 as the Project Manager.

Mr. Marcio F. Verdi is an economist and retired tax auditor of the Federal Revenue Service of Brazil. Mr. Verdi is the Executive Secretary of the InterAmerican Center of Tax Administrations – CIAT and currently Chair of the Net of Tax Organizations – NTO

He has specialized in International Economics in the University of Brasilia (UnB). He holds a Postgraduate degree in Theory and Implementation of a Modern Economy, from the George Washington University – GWU of the “Institute of Brazilian Business and Public Management Issues”, Washington, D.C. U.S.A.

Mr. Verdi held important positions in the Brazilian government, among others, General Management Coordinator of State-owned Companies, and has sat on countless Boards of Brazilian state-owned companies in different sectors.

He has served in the distinguished position of Member of the National Commission for Privatization, responsible for the Program on Privatizations, Public Services Concessions and Public and Private Sector related Projects.

In the Federal Revenue Secretariat of Brazil (RFB) he has held the different positions, among then being the General Tax Policy Coordinator, from June 2002 to July 2004. He was advisor to the RFB Secretary on the development and assessment of the Brazilian tax policy.

He has lectured and presented in different international meetings in over 60 countries and has been honored with the Nóe Winckler Tax Auditor’s Merit from the Federal Revenue Secretariat of Brazil in November, 2002

Soyoung Yoon has worked for the National Tax Service in Korea for 26 years. She has been involved in program development, project management, project budget management, computerized equipment management and other similar assignments. Despite the challenge in the deployment process, she has specifically established a new system for the next generation from 2010 to 2017. She is proud of the Neo Tax Integrated System of the National Tax Service as it provides various national tax administration services and is a key service sought by the majority of the people.

Ms.Nazia Zaib is an Inland Revenue Officer with over 20 years of professional experience holding Masters in Botany. She is currently posted as Chief International Taxes at FBR HQs and has served at different field formations across Pakistan including Karachi, Quetta, Rawalpindi and Islamabad. She has a diverse experience with particular specialization in enforcement and recovery of taxes. In her current position she is involved with negotiation of tax treaties, managing operations of automatic exchange of information zones established across Pakistan and has led the peer review assessment for exchange of information on request.

Dr. (Mrs) Ada Ajunwa is an ICT Professional/Consultant with over 24 years working experience. She has worked in both the private and public sectors, and is currently an Assistant Director – ICT Governance with the Federal Inland Revenue Service, Nigeria.

She is a Subject Matter Expert (SME) in numerous ICT fields including business intelligence, and machine learning, with extensive experience in classroom/online ICT related facilitations and lectures. She has also instituted procedures, strategies and policies for Information Systems.

She holds a BSc in Computer Science from the University of Benin (Nigeria), an MSc in Information Systems Management from University of Liverpool (UK), and a PhD in Management Information Systems from the North Central University (USA). She also holds various international technical and managerial certifications/ licenses, as well as professional affiliations. Notable among these are the Information Technology Certified Professional (ITCP) licence; the Canadian ICT Leadership Licence from Canada's Association of IT Professionals (CIPS), and she is a member of the global Information Systems Audit and Control Association (ISACA).

Ada has a passion for community volunteering, mentoring young professionals and transferring ICT knowledge to aspiring professionals within the ICT industry.

Fonoti Talaitupu Lia – Taefu, is the Chief Executive Officer of the Samoa Ministry of Customs and Revenue. She is also the Commissioner of Samoa Inland Revenue Service. She has been working in the Ministry for just over 20 years with a vast experience in Customs and Tax. She join the Ministry right out of University and she continues to serve to date. She was appointed to the position of Commissioner in April 2023 and has worked in various areas of the Ministry including more than 3 years in Tax work.

She holds a Degree in Accounting and Economics from the National University of Samoa with a Masters in Public Finance from the National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies in Tokyo, Japan. She has also served in the role of Project Manager for the Customs Modernization Project and Coordinator for the Inland Revenue Service Institutional Strengthening in which she was heavily involved in the restructure of the tax office, resources and its laws.

Ms. Nafa Waheed has more than 11 of years’ experience in the field of taxation and currently serves as the Deputy Director General of Medium Taxpayer Audit at the Maldives Inland Revenue Authority. Ms. Nafa Waheed began her journey with the tax administration in 2011, where she embarked on her career as a tax auditor. Over the years, Ms. Nafa has accumulated a wealth of expertise in conducting tax audits for diverse categories of taxpayers. Her experience spans across various segments, allowing her to proficiently identify major tax risks and challenges, and effectively develop strategies to mitigate these risks. Ms. Nafa Waheed is a member of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA).

Additionally, Ms. Nafa serves as a committee member of Admission and Licensing Committee of the Institute of Chartered Accountants of the Maldives and contributes her involvement to the process of issuing Licenses for conducting Statutory Audit in the Maldives.

Roseline leads the Compliance Program and Policy Unit in SRC, a post she has been serving for the last 4 years. In August 2022, she was mandated to also oversee the reform and modernisation related project as part of her portfolio. This includes, the development of a new Taxpayer management System with the aim of automating the internal processes and provide better e-services and digital solutions to facilitate voluntary compliance.

She began her career in SRC formerly known as the Tax Office back in July 2003 as a junior auditor. She has witnessed the transition from a traditional tax office to a more modern Tax Administration. The major reform which formed SRC occurred in 2009.

Roseline’s major is in Accounting and Finance but she has been following several short courses provided by International organisations like IMF to further develop her knowledge in Compliance Risk management and other pertinent topics.

She coordinated the development of the first Tax Compliance Improvement Plan in Tax Divisio. A plan which was developed with the assistance of IMF-Afritac South and has been launched in January 2023 as a piloting phase.

Her aspiration is to keep playing a key role in the transformation of the Tax Administration of her Country.

Ms. Mary J. Mahabir is a distinguished legal professional with an impressive career spanning over 38 years. Currently serving as the Head of the Office of the General Counsel and Policy Group, she oversees a dynamic team of legal and policy experts, providing guidance on a wide range of matters encompassing both domestic and international tax. With her astute expertise, Ms. Mahabir adeptly handles diverse internal affairs such as contracts, enforcement, employment, corporate governance, and legislation, ensuring compliance and optimal outcomes.

Notably, Ms. Mahabir also serves as a formidable representative of the Authority before the Tax Appeal Tribunal, where she effectively advocates for their interests. Prior to her current role, she held the esteemed position of consulting attorney at the Counsel of Lex Caribbean Law Offices, where she lent her legal insight to numerous corporate, finance, and property-related matters.

Ms. Mahabir's outstanding contributions to the legal field have been widely recognized. She has proudly served as the former Secretary and member of the Council of the Barbados Bar Association, demonstrating her commitment to professional development and the advancement of legal standards. Furthermore, her exceptional skills and accomplishments have earned her the distinction of being listed as a leading corporate commercial lawyer in Barbados for the past fifteen years by the esteemed Chambers Global publication.

With a wealth of experience and an unwavering dedication to excellence, Ms. Mary J. Mahabir continues to shape the legal landscape, providing invaluable guidance and leadership in the realm of taxation, policy, and corporate affairs.

Hussain has been working in the MIRA since 2015, having experience in tax enforcement, technical and taxpayer education.

Currently, he oversees the taxpayer education division which includes the contact center and tax academy. He supervises the development of guides, awareness and training programs and queries directed to MIRA by taxpayers, law firms and other stakeholders.

He is a member of two internal committees; the Technical Committee and the Technical Support to the Legal Team Committee.

He has studied Master of Taxation from the University of Sydney, Australia under the Australia Awards scholarship program and holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Business Management from GITAM University, India.